How active is your forum’s staff? This includes tasks like replying to threads, starting discussions, interacting with members, or handling moderation duties.
1) In your opinion, how important is it for staff to stay active and consistently engage with the community? Can a forum thrive without active staff participation?
2) Do you believe a warm welcome from staff can positively impact new members’ experience and encourage them to stay active?
3) What level of activity do you think is ideal for staff members to maintain on a forum?
4) Is there one staff member who handles most of the activity and moderation? If so, how does this dynamic impact the rest of the team?
5) Do you reward staff based on their activity levels, or do all staff members receive equal recognition regardless of how active they are?
6) On a scale from 1 to 10, how would you rate your staff’s current level of activity? Why?
Feel free to share your thoughts and personal experiences!
1) In my opinion, it is incredibly important for staff to stay active and be consistent because you want your staff to set a good example of what you want your ideal member to be like and the kind of activity you'd like your forum to have on a daily basis.
2. I think warmly welcoming new members can have an amazing impact cause members will see that the staff is not only active but care that they have a new member. Plus, it lets the new member know that if they have any questions or concerns the team is there and available for them. To add, everyone likes to feel welcomed and accepted so it's important to welcome newcomers and let them know that you appreciate that they chose to sign up to your forum or website.
3. I think staff should log on every day or every other day. Of course there are some exceptions such as vacations, or if the staff member needs to take some time off. Though I do believe that it is important to keep your members updated and let them know when a staff has vacation days or is taking some time away, so members aren't sending the staff member a message waiting for them to reply. Plus, members LOVE to be updated and stay in the loop with what's going on so it's always nice to know who's going to be around or not going to be around for the next little bit. If a staff member isn't going to be on for a day or two then it isn't as important to let the members know but if the staff member is going to be gone for more than 4 days, I think it's important for members to be aware.
4. I think you should have a team leader who is in charge of making sure the other staff members are staying on track and are being active. However, it is ultimately up to the administrator and/or owner to make sure everything is running smoothly, and staff are stepping up. I like to think of a forum kind of like a restaurant or a small business. You have the owner who is ultimately in charge of everyone and everything but then you have management to help you keep things running and keep members in line. You can have different stages of management (like a manager for the staff and managers for clients/members/ etc.) I think the administrator/owner should be in touch with all of the staff on a regular basis not only so they can work out any issues but also so that staff know that they have the support of the admin/owner. It will also help keep the staff motivated and wanting to be involved.
5. It is important to reward staff based on their activity levels because it will encourage the other staff members to be as active and as involved. We don't want to give out participation trophies but rather reward the ones that are making a difference and working hard. If you reward staff members who aren't active or who don't make an attempt, then you aren't really encouraging them to do better or to make better choices.
6. I currently don't have a forum and though I do have my own small business as a makeup artist I do not have any other staff so I can't really rank anyone else's current level of activity. Though, when I had a forum years ago, I must say I was blessed with staff who were active and wanted to be a part of the community so I never needed to remind them to post or be active.
This post is long, but I wanted to give reasons as to why I would expect what I would in a staff member. Thank you for reading!
